Hepatitis C in the UK: 2009 report

Synopsis

• All primary care organisations in England and Wales should ensure that integrated pathways of care are available for patients with hepatitis C (ideally coordinated through a clinical network).
• Strategic health authorities in England should take the lead in supporting local commissioners to ensure complete implementation of the hepatitis C Action Plan across all PCTs in their regions.
• Commissioners and providers of services for injecting drug users in Wales and Northern Ireland need to review their programmes to ensure that a broad range of prevention services (in addition to needle and syringe exchange) is available.
• Primary care organisations in England should develop mechanisms for obtaining reliable data on the number of patients referred, seen and treated for hepatitis C.
• Lead agencies in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales need to urgently initiate expanded public information campaigns to raise awareness of hepatitis C.
• Lead agencies in Wales and Northern Ireland should investigate the need for targeted public information campaigns to raise awareness of hepatitis C in individuals from the Indian sub-continent.
• Commissioners and providers need to ensure that a high rate of testing in those attending specialist services for drug users is maintained. Lead agencies in all UK countries should ensure widespread access to testing for hepatitis C using alternative specimens (for example, oral fluid and dried blood spot).
• Providers of prison health services should develop testing strategies and care pathways that allow equitable access to treatment services for offenders.
• Lead agencies in all countries should assess the impact of awareness campaigns, by monitoring testing outside of high risk group settings.
• National and local agencies should make efforts to understand and improve the completeness of routine surveillance systems for hepatitis C.
• All commissioners of HCV services should evaluate the coverage of HCV testing services in their area and ensure that laboratories have appropriate pathways for referring samples for confirmatory testing.
• National surveillance centres should develop systems for assessing and monitoring the incidence of hepatitis C in key risk groups. This includes injecting drug users, and if appropriate, HIV positive MSMs.
   

Additional information

• Hepatitis C 2009 Annual Report Slide Set (PDF, 1.4 MB)

Last reviewed: 13 January 2012